‘Still life Painting in Oils’
with
Sarah Margaret Gibson
Course Fee: £ 650
Total Spots on Course: 8
This course is open to students of all experience levels & is beginner friendly.
Course Times:
Morning: 10 am-1 pm |
Afternoon: 2 pm-5 pm
2026 Course Dates:
June 1st—5th (SOLD OUT) | October 5th—9th
2027 Course Dates:
April 12th—16th
In this 5-day oil painting retreat, Ayrshire Atelier’s Creative Director, Sarah Margaret Gibson will guide you in painting three simple still life compositions over the course of five days.
This course will teach you how to compose and paint simple, single-object still lifes while working from life. The first two paintings of the week will follow a two-day process: the first day will be dedicated to composing and then to establishing the foundation of the painting in a monochrome, and the second day will be an ‘alla-prima style’ approach to blocking in the painting in colour. On the final day of the workshop, students will complete one true ‘alla prima’ painting, by starting directly in colour without an underpainting and bringing the painting to a finish in a single session. Composition, colour, paint handling, and proper use of materials will all be discussed and explored.
‘Still life painting is a form of meditation for the artist; it allows one to slow down, and carefully observe what one truly sees, without bias. It also presents a wonderful opportunity for artists to experiment with colour, texture and composition.’
-Sarah Margaret Gibson
Book an Upcoming Course
Learn how to compose and paint simple still lifes in this workshop taught by Ayrshire Atelier’s Creative Director, Sarah Margaret Gibson. Students will work from life, creating their compositions from a variety of fresh fruits and antique still life objects.
Course Structure
Each day of the course will be divided into two sessions with a lunch break in between. First students will watch a comprehensive demonstration by Sarah in the morning, covering all of the relevant concepts at hand. Then, students will set-up their own compositions and create their own painting following the stages of Sarah’s particular method for direct oil painting from life.
Afternoon Session (2pm - 5pm)
Students will then spend the afternoon session working on their own portraits. Sarah will go around the class giving individually-tailored critiques to each student.
Morning Session (10am - 1pm)
Students will learn the process by watching an in-depth portrait demonstration by Sarah, whilst she simultaneously lectures on the various concepts to be covered that day.
What you will learn in this course:
During this class, Sarah will guide you through the various stages of creating a simple still life in oils. You will also gain an understanding of core principles and concepts of drawing and oil painting technique in general.
Key Stages & Core Concepts:
How to create a successful and informal, yet dynamic composition
How to utilise sight-size technique to establish drawing/proportion
How to work with a monochromatic underpainting
Alla prima style painting technique: how to block in the subject in simple colour-value groups, painting wet into wet and covering the whole canvas in a single session.
Paint handling and brushwork
Palette organisation and colour mixing theory
BOOK NOW
Learn how to compose and paint simple still lifes in this workshop taught by Ayrshire Atelier’s Creative Director, Sarah Margaret Gibson. Students will work from life, creating their compositions from a variety of fresh fruits and antique still life objects.
Required Course Materials List
We recommend you buy all your supplies in advance of the workshop.
All materials can be purchased on either Jacksonsart.com or Cassart.co.uk or supremepaint.co.uk unless stated otherwise. Most materials below have a specific product link in gold.
However, if you are traveling internationally and are looking to make packing easier, you can get most of your paints (with the exception of lead white), your mineral spirits and basic linseed oil at the Cass Art Store in Glasgow, which is a 40 minute train ride from the studio. Otherwise, to buy supplies in advance you will have to do so from an equivalent art supply store in your own country and pack your materials, as we cannot have supplies shipped to the Atelier in advance. Thank you.
Required brushes
Assortment of hog bristle and sable filberts and rounds:
I generally use Rosemary & Co. hog bristle filbert and rounds, sizes 0, 2, 4, 6, (a few of each size). And Filbert and Round Sables in sizes 2, 4 and 6 (a few of each size)
Recommended Rosemary Series: Classic Filberts, Classic Rounds, Sable Filbert Series 91, Sable Rounds Series 99
A few soft hair pointed “drawing brushes” for precision refinements:
Rosemary “Eclipse Rigger,” size 0; or Series 88, Rigger size 0
Required Paints
Lead white no.1 (Rublev). Titanium is an alternative, if necessary, but it performs very differently.
Other Required Materials
1 wooden palette (glass is acceptable too, but please no white disposable palette sheets!!!)
Paper towels and/or cotton rags
2 medium cups with lids (or a couple of small glass jars with lids)
1 roll of masking tape
1 roll of cling film
1 roll of aluminium foil
1 rectangular tupperware box with lid (around 15 x 20 cm) for storing paints
Required Mediums
All mediums can be purchased on Jacksonsart.co.uk
Gamsol odourless mineral spirits (for those traveling to Scotland by plane, Gamsol will be provided for you)
Cold-pressed linseed oil (Chelsea Classical Studio, preferably)
Chelsea Classical Lavendar Damar Varnish
Required Supports
3 oil-primed, fine linen boards . 13 x 18 cm or 18 x 24 cm or 20 x 30 cm — Available at Jacksonsart.com: https://www.jacksonsart.com/jacksons-oil-primed-linens-on-mdf-board-cl540
You can buy a few of each size if you want to experiment with different sizes and croppings. Otherwise, three of the 13 x 18 cm. will work fine.
Your Instructor: Sarah Margaret Gibson
born 1988, Cincinnati, OH.
Sarah Margaret is a world-renowned master in contemporary realist painting. She specialises in portraiture, bird and floral paintings, and in still-lifes. Characterized by a rich tenebrism, Gibson’s work dramatically juxtaposes light against shadow. She believes that light, and all of its symbolic qualities, are most poetic when contrasted against dark. Through her drawings and paintings, Gibson opens up a dialogue with nature, responding to what she finds beautiful and endeavoring to communicate this through the medium of oil paint.
Gibson received her formal training in drawing and painting in Florence, Italy. She studied at the Angel Academy of Art from 2008-2010, and then completed the full three-year program at The Florence Academy of Art, from which she graduated in 2013 and where she subsequently taught as a Principal Instructor in their Intermediate Drawing and Painting Programme.
In 2015 Sarah Margaret moved to the west coast of Scotland, alongside her husband and fellow artist, Lee Craigmile. Together they co-founded the Glasgow Academy of Fine Art in 2019, a formal training academy at which she taught traditional methods of representational drawing and painting to aspiring professional artists. In 2024, Gibson and Craigmile decided to transition the Academy, moving the school to Lee’s hometown on the west coast and combining it with their personal painting studio to create Ayrshire Atelier of Fine Art. Gibson acts as Creative Director and Principal Instructor of Studio Workshops at the atelier, and she splits her time between painting for galleries and commissions, teaching, and raising her two young sons.
Gibson's work is shown throughout the U.S., U.K. and Europe and can be found in the New Britain Museum of American Art, The New Salem Museum of Art and in numerous private collections. She is represented by Arcadia Contemporary in Soho, NYC.
Accommodation & Travel details
Please visit our About the Studio page for more information on traveling to Largs and on finding accommodation.
BOOK NOW
Learn how to compose and paint simple still lifes in this workshop taught by Ayrshire Atelier’s Creative Director, Sarah Margaret Gibson. Students will work from life, creating their compositions from a variety of fresh fruits and antique still life objects.